Caledonia Argus

Final candidates interviewing for superintendent next week

Posted: 2/17/04

By David Heiller
Argus News Editor

The Caledonia School Board is down to two or three finalists for the position of school superintendent.

At least two candidates will be interviewed on February 25. A third one might also be interviewed then, depending on his preliminary interview on February 17. This candidate couldnít make the initial interviews on February 5 and 6, due to a snowstorm.

School board members discussed the process at their February 9 meeting in the elementary school cafeteria. They received about 20 applications, then narrowed this pool down to six to interview.

Two of those people could not do the interviews, so the board interviewed four candidates, and chose two from that pool.

The districtís three principals, Connie Hesse, Brian Doty, and Cory Klabunde, will be present for the final interviews next week.

Present superintendent Jim Tool is working on an interim basis. His contract expires on June 30 of this year.

Contracts Approved:

ï The Caledonia School Board approved offering a contract to Laurel Rusert as a long-term substitute teacher beginning January 27, 2004. She will fill in for a teacher who is on disability and a projected maternity leave.

ï The board approved the contract for confidential assistant/payroll clerk Karen Schiltz.

ï The board approved hiring Andrew Neumann as summer student technology worker.

ï The board discussed what kind of contract it should offer to director of technology John Lukach, who has a one-year contract.

Tree planting discussed

In other business at the 90-minute board meeting, building and grounds custodian Joel Hesse talked about planting trees in the grounds of the new middle/high school.

Trees would add aesthetics and snow protection to the property, he said.

There might also be the possibility of raising trees for sale as a fundraiser for some school groups, an idea that Randy Mell of Minnesota DNR discussed with Hesse.

Dave Klinski said a tree planting might not work with the prairie grass that is planted, since that area requires controlled burns, and that is kind of hard on seedlings. Klinski got a chuckle from audience members ó all five of them ó for his comment.

Trees could hamper lines of sight, which are important for supervision, middle school principal Brian Doty cautioned.

Suzanne Roesler said that the board should revisit ideas that havenít taken off yet.

Hesse will bring a plan to the board at a future meeting of what he would like to see.

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